"Pacific Gas and Electric Company is taking a bold step in leading the effort to develop a proposed transmission project that would deliver up to 3,000 MW of new renewable power from British Columbia, Canada and the Pacific Northwest to northern California, along an approximately 1,000-mile transmission line and benefiting multiple regions and communities. PG&E asserts that this project will enable and advance inter-regional and international development and integration of renewable energy resources to enable PG&E's customers and customers of other load serving entities in California and the Pacific Northwest to access new renewable resources to help meet the various states' renewable portfolio standards and greenhouse reduction goals. PG&E also states that the integration and coordination of a number of regional reliability transmission projects currently being contemplated in the Pacific Northwest provide an opportunity to increase the reliability of electric services for millions of customers in the West.

While I agree that more work has to be done, I commend PG&E's key role in planning to make a significant investment in a region-wide transmission project and using the regional planning processes and possibly expanding the regional efforts under Order No. 890 to improve the bulk power grid. Broad regional coordination is also contemplated as PG&E proposes to design the project to take advantage of the complementary relationship between the seasonal demands of summer-peaking California and winter-peaking Pacific Northwest and British Columbia, making it possible to share resources to meet the energy needs of both regions.

I support granting PG&E's petition, in part, and allowing it to recover prudently incurred pre-commercial costs related to the project and prudently incurred abandonment costs if the project is abandoned for reasons beyond PG&E's control."